Dramione- Just another Dramione Fanfiction!
by MuggleinDenial
Summary: Multiple chapters...please be patient I haven't gotten to the actual Dramione part. I'm tired of people complaining, I'm working on it...uploading regularly. I have a life I can't post a chapter everyday unfortunately. So it would be really helpful if you didn't insult me on my writing, and just give me a chance to finish the story. Please and thank you.
1. Chapter 1

Draco lay in bed, sulking as usual. He didn't particularly like muggle borns, but he would rather put up with them than destroy them. Besides, the dark lord would show no mercy even to his closest servants. How odd that his own parents could not see that. If Draco did not obey the dark lord and join the death eaters, he would surly be killed, despite the protests of his mother.

Draco shuddered at the thought. He sighed uneasily and rolled onto his side, closing his eyes in the dim dungeon light, but before he could truly drift off into yet another fit full sleep, he heard the flap of wings as his owl soared into the sixth year Slytherin bedrooms. With another sigh, Draco opened his eyes and forced himself to stand up and retrieve the letter his owl had brought.

With dread, he opened the envelope. He had failed yet again to kill Dumbledore, Weasley had gotten in the way. He had no grudge against Dumbledore, but it had to be done. It was him, or the headmaster.

_You have failed again to do as I ask. If you should fail again, I will kill you and your mother._

_I hope that encourages you to act much more than your half hearted attempts. Do not _

_doubt that I mean what I say. If you should fail, you will die. _

Draco paled. What should he do now? He had no other choice. His mother, his dear mother. He felt like he was going to be sick.

He heard someone enter the dormitory. He crumpled the letter in his fist, and turned to face whoever it was who had dared to disturb him. It was Blaise.

"Come off it Malfoy, what are you doing in here? Goyle and I were going to go down to the quidditch pitch. Come on mate, quit sulking and do something for once." Blaise said with mild concern. It wasn't like Blaise to sympathise, but Draco supposed it must be rather unnerving to have one of your best mates constantly hiding under the covers in his bed, but he didn't care.

"What's it to you?" He snarled. "You've been sneaking glances at that Weasley girl. Come off it, I've seen you." He accused. Blaise began to splutter in surprise. "The way you look at her, only a fool couldn't see it. I have work to do. Unlike you." Draco whipped his shaggy blonde head around and aimed a kick at his trunk, which flipped open and expelled quite a few pairs of boxers and socks. "It's not fair!" He yelled. Blaise stood silently behind him.

"All-Alright mate. I- I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone now." He turned to leave, but stopped. "I'm not a traitor Malfoy. Weasley may be a fox but I don't favor her any more than I favor Pansy." He said quietly. Draco swallowed carefully and sat down on the bed, tears threatening to spill over the rims of his eyes. It's lucky his tossled hair hid his eyes from Blaise.

Blaise pause a moment, and left the dormitory. Draco let out a dry sob as the door shut. He thrust his face in his hands. He was going to die. His life was over. His mum was going to die. He was going to fail.

He sobbed again and looked up from his hands, staring at his reflection in the window. That was when he saw the wardrobe reflected from behind him. He turned around and looked at it carefully. He remembered last year when a boy from his house had gotten trapped in a vanishing cabinet. They had died out of fashion long ago, but apparently there was one at Hogwarts.

He stopped crying. That was it. He wouldn't fail. The vanishing cabinet, the room of requirement! That was it! He would have to find it again, but he was sure it would work. He wasn't going to die! He wasn't going to die.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco hurried down the corridor with purpose in his step. Just one more staircase and he would be there. Hopefully no one was using it.

He heard footsteps behind him. He immediately stopped and turned about, looking for the owner of the steps. There was no one there. Potter. That two faced arse! He was under his invisibility cloak. He just knew it.

"Well well Potty. Very clever. You've got your daddy's cloak on haven't you? Well, I could hear your muggle loving, mouth breathing as soon as you started following me." Draco hissed. No one answered. The corridor was still. "Of course, you think you're invincible. Your mud blood mother won't save you from getting your nose broken again like earlier this year. She died in vain you know, just like those Weasley riff raff and that muggle bitch, Granger will." Draco doubled over and let out a loud huff of air as a fist connected with his stomach. Malfoy groaned with laughter.

"You will never amount to anything Potter. Your father died like a cowardly pig and so shall you." A blow hit his chin with a blast of pain. Draco spat out blood. "Instead of beating the shit out of me, you should really take off that cloak. Or maybe you're just as much of a coward as I know you are." He taunted. He heard the fluttering of light fabric as Potter ripped off his invisibility cloak.

"You're father is the pig. My father died a hero, your father is in azkaban where cowards like him rot." Potter said with narrowed eyes. Malfoy chuckled.

"You think I give a rats arse about my father? You think you're so perfect Potter, but you're wrong. You're going to die just like the rest of the filth." Draco wiped the blood from his mouth and smirked at Harry, who drew his wand in anger.

As if having smelled Draco's blood in the air, Professor Mcgonagall swooped in behind Harry. She wrapped Potter on the shoulder with the scroll she held in her hand.

"Potter, for your sake, I hope you were going to clean that blood off of Mr. Malfoy's face." She said curtly in Harry's ear. Harry began to splutter, but all of the evidence pointed to him. "Mr. Malfoy, please return to whatever it is that you're doing, I'll have a word with Potter." She said, waving Draco away.

Draco didn't normally like the Gryffindor house hag, but she had her perks. She always seemed to show up just at the proper moment.

Draco smoothed his robes smartly, and marched away. He smiled giddily as he rounded the corner to go into the room of requirement. Potter made this just too easy.

Malfoy did his paces in front of the empty wall where the room of requirement was hidden, and waited for the door to appear. Slowly, but surly, a door molded itself into the wall, ready and waiting for Draco to open it. He stepped inside and looked around at the mountains of loot. The only reason why Malfoy knew that the vanishing cabinet was here, was because back in his first year, he had snuck a cleansweep 7 into the school and needed a place to keep it. Draco had been wandering past with his broomstick when he discovered the door. And Potter thought that he found the room first.

Draco looked around as he went by. Nothing had changed. It didn't look as if many people had visited this particular room since Malfoy had been there. If only he could remember where the cabinet was. He remembered there was a bust of a troll with a tiara, and a cage with no bird. There! He could see the tiara glistening from where he stood.

He smiled broadly and jogged over to where the cabinet sat. It was tall and ornate. He could see why people liked them so much. Not to mention that they're dead useful. This magical doorway was going to save his life.

He carefully opened the door to peer inside. Instead of seeing the inside of the cabinet, he saw blankness. It was a gaping hole that led to, well, nothing. It just fell away like there was no back, or floor. That couldn't be right. From what Montague (the boy who got stuck last year) had said, the cabinet looked like any other on the inside.

Malfoy closed the door, hoping, praying that when he opened it again, it would all be alright. Draco re-opened the door. Nothing. His lip started to tremble as he gazed at the nothingness. It couldn't be... but then he realized. The cabinet must have broken when Montague had stepped inside last year, thats how he had got lost. There was something terribly wrong with it. This wasn't supposed to happen!

Draco began to shake all over, his insides writhing. What was he going to do now? He didn't know how to fix vanishing cabinets! He knew it was too good to be true. It was all too simple. He was doomed. He had condemned his mother as well. He failed- no no. There had to be an answer. There had to be.

Malfoy felt the tears coming. Not here, he would surly be discovered, and what if Potter tried to get in? He hurried out, the lump of despair rising in his throat. Out of the room of requirement he ran, down the stairs, to the left where he hurried into a bathroom marked "Out of Order". He sighed with relief and quickly slipped inside. No one would find him here. Malfoy glared at his reflection in the mirror, and promptly began to cry.

He felt so out of control. He didn't want to die! How could this be happening? He had nearly killed two people, he wasn't like that! He wasn't! He didn't want to kill anyone, but he would die if he didn't! He was ugly inside. He was ugly outside. Malfoy hated himself.

His face was thin and pale, his hair, a mop of light blond hair was all over the place. He'd nearly killed Weasley, and Bell. Why him? Why did it always have to be him?

"I HATE YOU!" He screamed at his reflection. His despair turned to anger, and he smacked away the tears ashamedly. What was wrong with him? He was such a coward. Potter was right, about everything. What was he going to do? He had no clue. He was terrified. Terrified of himself.

"Malfoy?" A soft voice asked. Draco froze, mortified at the thought of someone over hearing his breakdown. He looked left and right, but saw no one.

"Who's there" He called. He wanted to sound threatening, but instead, he just sounded scared. He looked under the stalls to see if there was anyone there, but there wasn't. At least not until he saw a pair of sneakered feet hit the ground in the stall farthest from him. The door opened, and who stepped out, but none other than that Mudblood Granger. Malfoy couldn't swallow. His throat was bone dry.

"I-I thought you were Moaning Myrtle...I'm sorry." She said hesitantly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Malfoy felt his face go up in flames. Moaning Myrtle?

"M-moaning Myrtle?" He asked shakily. He didn't know what else to say. What did she want him to say? He tried to swallow, but he just couldn't. His face flared brighter.

"Yes. You know, the girl that haunts the toilets and... and cries all the time." She looked down at her feet. Clutched to her chest was a rather thick leather bound book, "Gadding with Ghouls". Granger still read those stupid books Lockhart had assigned them in second year?

"I know who Moaning Myrtle is!" Draco said in a rather lofty voice. "What are you staring at mudblood?" He spat. Granger flinched and took a tiny step back.

"I-I guess I should go." She murmured. Malfoy stared at her taken aback. She wasn't fighting back? That was quite a character change. Not that he minded. She was the most irritating person he had ever met, next to Pansy anyways.

"Granger...If you tell Potter about his, you'll pay." Draco croaked. Hermione's mouth shrank into a thin line, a hardened look came into her eyes.

"I actually felt pity for you Draco, but I'm not afraid of you, nor am I going to listen to whatever comes out of your mouth. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to Gryffindor tower, I suggest you go back to the dungeons where you belong." She sniffed haughtily, and marched out the door, her curly hair bouncing behind her. Draco stood speechless for a moment. The embarrassment he would suffer! Granger would surly tell everyone! How foolish he had been.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco awoke the next morning feeling even more exhausted than he had the previous day. He rolled over and glared at the ceiling from where he fell asleep on the couch in the Slytherin common room.

Stupid mudblood. Draco was by no means prepared to face Potter's triumphant grin at breakfast, but, if he didn't show up for breakfast this morning, then they'd take him for a coward. He could at least be there to inform Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Blaise that whatever rumors the Gryffindors had cooked up, were completely untrue. Maybe he could even include a dramatic story where he caught Granger oogling him in the prefect bathrooms early this morning.

"Yes that would be a good cover up." Draco thought to himself.

He struggled to rise from the couch as his brain protested in extreme fatigue. Eventually, he got himself to a half slumping position, massaging his face in his hands, trying to get himself to wakeup from his drowsy stupor.

He stood up, and straightened his robes, not feeling much like going up to change. He massaged his hair in his hands into what he figured was a messily, sexy style. He gave a gigantic yawn. He inhaled a bit and accidently caught the smell of his breath. He would have to remind himself to keep his mouth closed.

He glanced at the clock on the mantle over the fire, and stopped mid yawn, staring in horror. 9:30 AM.

He promptly dashed out of the room. He only had fifteen minutes to get down to the great hall and shovel some food down before his first class that morning, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

He did his best to catch all of the shortcuts he possibly could, but he still arrived with only five minutes to spare. As he raced through the double doors, towards the Slytherin table, he saw Blaise and Pansy rise from the table. He sighed in frustration. He couldn't seem to get anything right! He couldn't sleep, he couldn't arrive on time anywhere he went, he got caught crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom by Granger...what now? What the hell would happen now?!

"Ohhhhh! Drakey! We were just coming upstairs to bring you breakfast!" Pansy shrieked over at Malfoy, shaking a cornbread muffin in his direction.

Malfoy wrestled his face into a smile. Here was the girl he despised most in the school, even more than the filthy little mudblood! Drakey? Really? Where in her mind did that seem like an appropriate name to call him? He was a deatheater now and she bloody well knew it! It was as if Bellatrix had the nerve to call the Dark Lord; Voldy.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I was a bit distracted by recent events. I was spending most of my morning scrubbing my body clean of the mudblood's finger prints." Dracp sneered over at Granger disdainfully, his gaze full of disgust. Pansy gasped in outrage.

"You-you mean to tell me...that-that-that evil, twisted, psycotic little mudblood touched my Drakey?!" Pansy growled, the muffin that she was holding fell to the floor, forgotten. Draco grimaced. He was actually looking forward to a little food. He had soon forgotten when he saw Blaise eyeing Granger with nothing less than pure rage. He saw Blaise shove a hand in his pocket.

"Not now Blaise. That filth will pay later. Nows not the time. Not now when she has the Weazle drooling all over her and Potty well...being Potty," Malfoy said warningly. Blaise grudgingly removed his hand and let it fall to his side, curled in a tight fist. Pansy was practically crying with anger, her whole body shuddering.

"H-how? How? How did you let this happen?!" She whispered viciously, her accusing eyes pointed directly at him. Draco narrowed his eyes at her. How dare she suggest such a thing?! It had never even happened to begin with, but if it had, did she seriously think he would let Granger even come close to placing a dirty finger on his perfect, pure skin?

Never. He would keep that vow to the end of his days. To the very end.

"You dare accuse me? I would nev- she's a mudblood! Why in the name of Merlin-ah. If you MUST know, she snuck up on me while I was in the shower in the prefects bathroom. There I was just minding my own business, I didn't even hear her come in!" Pansy's stare became a little less accusing and a little more suspicious. Draco continued to ramble, ignoring the curious looks he was getting from a couple of Hufflepuff second years.

"And-and she just stood there, staring at me. I started to tell her off and I told her I was going to jinx her out of her socks, until she came over and-and. Well. I jinxed her. Or tried to. I was so shocked and disgusted, I missed her." Malfoy felt his cheeks redden. He didn't think this through at all. Pansy's lips tightened as she studied him.

"Drakey...I'm- I'm just so sorry!" She blurted, hurrying forward to hug him. Draco cringed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Wincing slightly, he patted her back awkwardly. Blaise raised an eyebrow as Pansy cooed apologies into Malfoy's ear. Draco shrugged and smiled uneasily, sending a wink in Blaise's direction that he dearly hoped said, "Hah...just suckered the stupid slut." But Blaise continued to stare at him with a questioning glare.

As Pansy pulled away, Draco donned his traditional Malfoy smirk. Pansy beamed at him taking his hand in hers. She gazed at him in pure adoration as they set off down the hall, towards DADA.

As they walked, and Blaise bored them about his mother's recent remarriage (her fourth husband had just died the month previously), they heard loud giggles of laughter. The three Slytherins couldn't help but turn their heads toward the assailants. It was none other than Granger, Weazle and Potty.

What were they laughing at? The mudblood must have told them, what else would they have to laugh at?

Before Malfoy could through back a smart comment, Pansy intervened. Much to his horror.

"Why don't you heel your dog Potty? Drakey is my property." She snarled. The trio stopped and stared at Pansy. Draco's heart sank. Oh Pansy...why was she so bloody thick?!

"What do you mean? I haven't done anyth-" Weasley started, but Pansy continued to shriek over the top of him.

"I wasn't talking about you!" Pansy glared at Granger angrily, who blushed a deep shade of pink. Potty and Weazle goggled at Hermione in shock.

"Hermione? Hermione and- and that stupid prat?" Potty stuttered disbelievingly. Hermione directed her gaze at Draco calmly. She smirked and shook her head amusedly.

"Drakey is not a prat! I assume you don't know! Granger here corned poor Drakey in the prefects bathroom this morning!" Pansy retaliated shrilly. Granger continued to shake her head.

"No way! Hermione-" Ron choked. His head swivled back to Hermione, he stared at her despairingly.

Draco shook himself into his usual cocky swagger.

"Yeah that's right. The little whore between you likes to window shop like a homeless person in London. She can look but she can't touch. Unfortunately for her, she had to find this out for herself this morning." Malfoy drawled. Granger blushed a deeper shade of pink, but continued to shake her head at Draco.

"Don't believe him. He's a stupid arsehole who doesn't want anyone to know that he's a little cry baby who hates himself almost as much as she hates us." Granger replied frankly. Potter snorted.

"Wait, wait. Drakey was...was crying?" Weasley chuckled. Draco swallowed carefully. He felt a flush creeping up his neck, which he struggled to keep down. Eventually the red creeped onto his cheeks which just made Potter howl with laughter.

"So it's true?!" Potty spat. "And you seriously thought we would believe you...that Hermione was sneaking a peak at you in the showers? Oh wow. You're low but I didn't think you were honestly that stupid!" Pansy looked up at Draco with awe.

"You-you were crying?" Pansy asked surprisedly. Malfoy felt Pansy's arm loop through his. "Oh Drakey. Why didn't you come to me?" She simpered. Draco was at a loss for words.

"Believe what you want Potty, but the fact is that Granger's a whore and we all know it. You're just too blind to see it. Especially you Weasley." Malfoy said in a low voice.

"Expecially me-what do you mean?!" Weazle asked confusedly. Malfoy smirked and flicked the hair out of his eyes with a jerk of his head.

"Look at that Granger. Looks like you're alone in your little crush." He sneered at Hermione. She blushed again, if possible, redder than before. Ron goggled over at her, and Draco took this opportunity to drag Pansy into the DADA room with Blaise tailing behind them.

They took their seats at the back of the classroom, as they would on any normal day, but this was no unordinary day. Before Pansy could sit down next to Draco, Granger zoomed in and sat right smack next to him, sending Pansy a pointed look that spoke anything but welcome. Pansy sniffed haughtily and moved in next to Blaise who did not look displeased with the new seating arangments.

Granger stared at Malfoy...not with hatred or rage, but with curiousity, and confusion. Malfoy stared right back- that is until she wouldn't stop staring. It was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. Even as Draco directed his gaze down to his bag, she wouldn't stop staring. She didn't even get out her books. Not a quill, not her wand, not a square inch of parchment.

"Consider the fact that I actually let you sit here Granger. I suggest you stop staring." Malfoy snarled without truly looking at her. He could see her shaking her head again just out of the corner of his eye.

"That was the most pathetic lie you have ever told. I expected so much worse." She laughed humorlessly. He sent her a sharp look, but Granger just snorted at his expression and turned to her bag to get out her things.

"Well I'm sorry I didn't humiliate you to the n'th degree you stupid mudblood. I let you off easy. I knew you were going to tell them anyways...might as well stir the pot as long as you were going to." Draco sneered. She just shook her head again, a smile bright on her face.

"Stir the pot...what? Telling Ron that I like him? That's the best you could do? Even Parkison doesn't believe your 'shower story' and she has a head thicker than Crabbe and Goyle put together." Granger replied with ease. He swallowed a laugh as he looked over at Pansy, who was scribbling a couple of sentances down on a spare bit of parcment for the homework that was due that day."And besides...I wasn't going to tell Ron or Harry, so you made a gigantic prat of yourself for nothing." She added.

What a big fat lie. Why wouldn't Granger tell Potty and the Weazle? After all, she had punched him in the face. He rubbed his nose at the memory. Granger could really throw a punch when she wanted to. This would have been the biggest punch of all, showing the school what a big fake he was. He wasn't cool, or sexy, or smart, or daring, he was- well, he was a fake. He was even faker than the myth that surrounded Potter's fame swollen head.

"Like I believe that." Draco spat. He looked back at Ganger who looked at him in...what was...pity?

"You really should consider the fact that other than being a muggle born, I'm still human. I wouldn't go so far as to humiliate you that badly." Hermione said matter-of-factly. Draco ground his teeth together angrily. She was being so calm...it was so frustrating!

"Well mudblood...I'll decide how human you can be. You don't have the right to feel pity for me. What would you, a dirty mudblood such as yourself, pity a well off, talented, attractive pure blood like me about? There's nothing to pity." Malfoy growled between his teeth. Granger sighed loudly, which drew a couple of stares towards their conversation.

"Oh I don't know, self worth? Let's face it Malfoy. You have an image problem." She said simply. Seamus Finnigan who sat in front of them with Dean Thomas, turned around and snickered appreciativly at Hermione's comment. Draco's jaw tightened.

When Seamus turned back around, he grabbed her wrist roughly squeezing it tightly. Granger's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't make a sound.

"Keep your voice down! You think I want people hearing those lies?" Draco hissed. She just laughed.

"What Malfoy? Don't want people to know you've got feelings?" Hermione laughed. Draco squeezed tighter on her arm, dragging her closer, so their faces were only an inch apart.

"Listen to me Granger, I am not some broken boy that you can take up as a side project. I will kill you, don't you doubt it. I will. I don't care if you say you're not afraid, because you are. You're just another stupid mudblood, and if you try to play counselor with me again, you will find yourself in a lot more trouble than your stinking skin is worth." He snarled. Granger just smirked at him unpleasantly, although, Draco had felt, just moments before, a shiver of fear run the length of her body.

"Alright fine...I'm afraid. Happy?" She said loudly. She gave a sudden cough and gave a giggle of laughter. "Did you brush your teeth this morning Malfoy?" She laughed again. Draco groaned inwardly and squeezed her arm tighter.

The room broke out into hundreds of snickers. Hermione and Draco looked up abruptly, only to see everyone in the classroom turned to watch them. They heard someone clapping. They rose their eyes to Snape, who was watching them with an amused smirk. He continued to clap.

"How stirring. Now before we go any further...let me just say how proud I am of both of you for starting an interhouse relationship, and in the middle of my class. Congratulations, I'm sure you two are very happy together. Detention for both of you and ten points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger simply for annoying me." Snape drawled. He turned back to the rest of the class. "Now...onto the Cruciatus Curse, who can give me a clear description of what this particular spell does?"

Draco gave Granger's arm one last squeeze before releasing her and turning to watch Snape with a determined eye. She turned to Harry and Ron who were still staring at Malfoy and Hermione with pure shock and anger. She just shrugged and turned back to the front.

Snape had never given him detention before. Even when Snape was displeased with Draco, he had never done such a drastic thing. Rage coursed through Malfoy. Granger. That stupid, disgusting, mudblood, Granger.

He shot a sideways glance over to her and his hatred lightened a little. She was only trying to help after all. He shook his head to clear it. No way was this happening. She was ugly, and unpure, and all the things he hated.

"Well you don't hate mudbloods...you would never go so far as to kill-" Draco shook his head again. All of these thoughts had burst into his head unannounced and univited. He felt disgusted with himself. He had allowed this to happen. He heard a sniffle off to his right.

Pansy had begun to cry. She was looking over at Draco with an expression of shock and betrayal. Draco began to mime vomiting, but before he could even get the idea of his disgust towards Granger across, Pansy had whipped her head back around, avoiding his eyes altogether. He felt a bit sorry for her. Not a lot, but a bit. She was rather thick, and it wasn't her fault. That didn't change the fact that she was irritating as hell, not to mention that she was a bitch towards Granger.

NO! NO! That was a good thing. Pansy was combatible with him because of their shared hatred for Granger.

"But do you hate her? Really?" A sly voice whispered in his head. His first answer was yes, but no was fighting it's way to the top. Alright, maybe he didn't hate her, but he did greatly dislike her.

"Draco!" Snape snapped from up front.

"Wha?" Malfoy replied instantly. Potter snorted with laughter off to his right. Malfoy ignored him.

"Would you kindly tell us the difference between the Cruciatus curse and a simple stinging jinx?" Snape said silkily.

Why was he picking on him?! He always directed all of his hatred at Potter! Never him! His star student...

"Erm...well" Draco started. He hadn't had time to read the chapter on that the night before because he had collapsed in the common room the minute he came back from the bathroom. He would have a go anyways. He was the smartest student next to Granger after all.

"Well proffessor" He started again more confidently. "The stinging jinx-" But as he answered the question, his brain was far away. Far far away, dreaming of a time when he didn't have to read up on stinging jinxes and get in useless fights with Ganger, where there was no Draco. Where he wouldn't have to be anymore. Where blood didn't matter, where nothing mattered because of his lack of existance.


	4. Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, Draco had long forgotten Hermione. He was spending most of his free periods in the library trying to find books on repairing the cabinet. The rest of the school, however, did not forget. His once widely respected reputation, was now shot to pieces. He was now a lonely figure to be snickered at from across the hall. Blaise and Pansy hadn't exactly gotten over him lying about the prefects bathroom. Blaise was convinced that he was having a cross house affair with Granger, and Pansy wouldn't stop cooing over him like a kicked puppy. As annoying as this was, Draco just continued to get books from the library and head to the room of requirement as Crabbe and Goyle would stand watch outside, disguised as a couple of Ravenclaw first years of course.

Everytime he visited the cabinet, things slowly got better, but it was no where near the quality it needed to be at to carry it's passangers. The work he was doing would often drag on through the nights, and last late into the morning, in which he would end up skipping several DADA classes. Snape had tried to track him down several times, but to no avail. Draco would constantly give him the slip.

One day, just as Snape was tailing him down the hallway, he came across Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. He dashed inside and pressed his ear to the door, listening with bated breath, to hear if Snape was going to come in and check. But luckily for Draco, he could hear the swish of Snape's overly large robes retreat down the corridor.

He sigh with relief, and made to open the door and go back to the common room, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" It was Moaning Myrtle, floating just above him, watching his every move with watery eyes hidden behind thick lensed glasses. Draco swallowed carefully.

"I'm-I'm-listen, it's none of your business who I am!" He snarled. Instead of bursting into tears, Moaning Myrtle zoomed lower until she was face to face with him.

"You're lonely...like me." She snivled thickly. Draco stiffened, shrinking away from the pitiful little ghost.

"No...I want to be left alone." He muttered angrily.

"So you ARE lonely. You're that Malfoy boy everyone's been talking about! I heard talk in the girls bathroom on the third floor about you!" Myrtle squealed delightedly. Draco narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"How do you know? Who's been talking about me?" He asked in a low voice. Myrtle edged closer to him.

"Ohhhhh everyone's been talking about you!" She continued vemenently. "They all said you were sobbing, and in this very bathroom." Draco stared at her open mouthed, shocked and thoroughly annoyed.

"I didn't sob! I wasn't even crying! And I'm not lonely!" He added as he saw Myrtle smiling sweetly at him.

"You're lonely! Just like me! Oh! Please don't leave!" She wailed as he began to open the door. "No one understands poor Myrtle. No friends! No family! I just sit in here and cry all day!" Draco turned back to look at her curiously.

"Surly you can...you know? Go on?" He asked uncomfortably. Myrtle shook her head sadly, tears pooling in her large grey eyes.

"I'm stuck here! It's not like I had any friends you know when I was-was" Her lower lip trembled.

"Alive?" Draco suggested softly. Myrtle nodded sorrowfully and pulled a hankerchief out of her pocket, blowing her nose loudly.

"Yes, yes. Alive. But my parents have passed on! At least they-they care!" Myrtle blew her nose again. Draco felt a pinch of sympathy as he watched the ghost cry uncontrollably.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, my father doesn't really care about me. He just wants me to give our family a nice image." He said bitterly. Myrtle looked up and stopped crying at once.

"But w-what about your m-mother?" She cried. Draco shrugged and sat down on the floor with his back leaned up against the wall.

"She's too afaird to stand up to him. She's no better really. She cares but not enough." His own words surprised him. He remembered many days of his childhood that were spent under the critical eye of his father. Scorn at his grades, disapointment in his flying abilities, anger at his inability to beat the Granger girl in all of his classes.

Myrtle tutted her sympathy. Surprisingly, Draco felt a little better. He had never told anyone any of that.

"Now don't go telling people this. We are NOT friends." He suddenly said in a mennacing voice. Myrtle shrugged and flashed him a smile. Draco glared at her, but he could tell Myrtle knew that his heart wasn't in it. Draco stood up very suddenly and opened the door to leave the dingy, depressing little bathroom, when he heard Myrtle call after him.

"Draco?" She asled shakily. Draco turned, half in the bathroom, half out.

"What?" He tried to inject his voice with irritation but failed miserably. He silenty cursed himself. He mustn't become that soft boy everyone thought he was.

"Will you come back? Please." She asked desperately. There she floated in mid air, looking as if she might die again if he said no. Draco didn't have the heart to tell her he wouldn't. Besides, he couldn't deny that it didn't feel better to tell her some of these things.

"Fine. Fine...I will. But you must PROMISE that you won't tell a soul. Never Myrtle...or I swear-" He stumbled over his words trying to find a good threat...but how do you threaten a dead girl?

"Or I will never come back." He finished. Myrtle nodded wildly.

"I won't! I promise I won't!" She said shrilly, crossing her heart with her index finger. Draco studied her a moment, and nodded in satisfaction. He turned about and walked away. As the door swung shut behind him, he could swear he could hear Myrtle singing loudly to herself. There wasn't a hint of tears in her voice, but every note was injected with joy.


	5. Chapter 5

Draco did not return to Moaning Myrtles bathroom that week as he had promised. The more he though about the conversation he had with Myrtle, the more he regretted what he had told her. Myrtle was just a sniveling little mudblood. She had no clue what it was like to be him. To suffer endlessly, to feel like no one cared, like no one wanted him. Like he was hated. He WAS hated. He couldn't deny it. Everyone hated him, even Blaise who probably only called him "best mate" for protection. He knew what Draco's quest was. He knew that if he got in the way or meddled with the plans in, Draco would kill him.

That was the thing wasn't it? Everyone used him. He was everybody's skape goat. He took the blame...always. Whenever he and Potter got into a fight, Draco was looked to as the perpetrator. Oh sure he would insult Potter endlessly, but it's not as if Potter didn't do it back. Hadn't he tried to be Potter's friend?

In his first year, Draco had been nervous. He hadn't a friend in the world, sure Crabbe and Goyle came in handy, but they weren't exactly what Draco would call, friends. When Potter first walked into Madame Malkins, he had stood pondering a moment while nervously biting his lip. He never had had a friend before. His father made sure of it. He was isolated and scrutinized. He didn't know the first thing about friendship.

This boy who had wandered into the shop in second hand clothing, had a kind and honest look to him. His eyes were bright with excitement, and he gazed around the shop in awe. Draco knew at once that this boy must be a muggle. He knew what his father thought of these people, but as he saw the boy push his battered glasses up his nose and walk up to the front desk of Madame Malkins. He had a feeling that this was to be his chance, his one chance to find someone who felt the same, unwanted and undeserving.

How could he approach him though? Should they shake hands? What should he ask him? He hadn't a clue how to do any of this. Draco shifted nervously and the woman pinning him up anxiously told him to hold still.

Madame Malkin led the small, dark haired boy over to a stool, which he stepped up on to be measured. Draco cleared his throat loudly. The boy looked up at him, looking mildly surprised.

"Hogwarts too?" Malfoy asked awkwardly. The boy nodded uncertainly. "Play quidditch much?" He tried again.

"Erm..." The boy started, but he didn't finish his sentence. Malfoy rolled his eyes unintentionally.

"I'll take that as a no." He muttered quietly. The boy gave him a sharp look. Draco felt panic rise in his throat. Change the subject! Change the subject!

"Do you know what house you'll be in? I'm bound to be in slytherin, my whole family was in it." He tried to say in his friendliest voice, but instead he just sounded haughty. Oh no! What have you done? He thinks you're a lunatic!

"Um...I don't know." The boy stuttered. Draco quickly changed tact.

"I-I don't think they should let the other sort in...don't you think?" He asked anxiously. The boy gave him an inquiring look.

"Well..." The boy's voice trailed off uncertainly.

You fool! He's probably a mudblood! He shook himself angrily. He looked up and out the window. Outside was a mammoth of a man, holding too ice cream cones which he pointed to excitedly. Draco suppressed a shout of laughter as he looked on. He changed tact yet again, maybe humor would help.

"I say, look at that man!" He said with a laugh. The boy looked at him coldly, and Draco felt his heart sink again. He didn't mean to be rude, but he didn't know how else to please him! He just wanted friendship after all.

"That's Hagrid. He's the Hogwarts game keeper." The boy said knowingly. He smiled at the Hagrid bloke and gave him a thumbs up. Draco felt a twitch of annoyance.

"Oh yah, he's a sort of servant isn't he? And once in a while he tries to do magic and he sets fire to his bed." Draco snickered. He sounded more and more like his father, but how couldn't he? Why didn't this boy like him?

"I think he's brilliant." The boy replied cooly. Draco watched him taken aback.

"Why are you with him? Where are your parents?" He asked bluntly, but he thought he came off more as demanding. This was, again not the way he had intended this to go.

"They're dead." The boy replied jerkily. Draco didn't feel an ounce of pity at the moment. Why was he taking everything the wrong way? Couldn't he see that he was trying to be friends?

"Oh...sorry." He responded curtly. "But...were they our kind? A witch and a wizard?" He asked curiously. The boy shot him a look of pure anger.

"Yes. They were a witch and a wizard. Not..."the other sort" as you said." He shot back venomously. Draco stared at him open mouthed. That was not how he meant it! But instead of apologizing, he decided to continue his rocky decline.

"Well we're a long line of pure bloods. Not a single muggle to speak of." Draco stated proudly. "What's your surname?" He asked as he realized that he didn't even know the boy's name, but his time was up.

"That's you all done dear." Madame Malkin said to the boy. The boy hopped off the stool, with a sigh of relief he noticed.

"See you at Hogwarts!" Draco called as the door swung shut behind the boy. He bowed his head in shame. He completely screwed that up. What was wrong with him? Why didn't he like him?

That was only the first of a line of misunderstandings. Malfoy made one more attempt on the Hogwarts Express, but was again shot down. He may not have asked him in the kindest way possible, but he tried!

"He hates me...but I don't know why. Him hating me, just seemed to make everyone else hate me. Stupid Potty." Draco thought angrily as he stared up at Professor Flitwick, caught in a daze.

"And Granger is just as bad. I didn't even mean to call her mudblood that day during second year. It just slipped out." He rubbed his face tiredly. "No one gets it...they just assume that I hate them all anyways, which I do. Things might have been quite different if Potty had just given me a damn chance. We might be friends, everyone might have liked me. I might not have got myself stuck in this situation." A death eater, sent to kill his headmaster.

Blaise poked him uneasily. Professor Flitwick was watching him intently.

"Now...Mr. Malfoy, if you would kindly pay attention to my class...you may just pass your N.E.W.T.S. Right now, you aren't even achieving an acceptable in my class." Flitwick squeaked sternly, peering at him from his perch on the many books that sat before his desk. Draco blushed and studied his desk...trying to avoid the stares of the people around him.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat impressively and continued the lesson. After the bell rang, Malfoy made for the common room. As he headed down the last flight of stairs, he caught sight of Pansy walking UP the stairs. His stomach curled unpleasantly.

Pansy had taken to dragging Draco outside for a walk around the lake whenever she caught him alone. It had come to the point where Draco had to erase Pansy's memory so she would forget that she saw him.

He sprinted back up the stairs and hid behind the statue of Salazar Slytherin. Pansy marched by, humming quietly to herself. He watched as her tall, thin figure retreat up the hallway.

He began to walk back down the hallway, when he heard a swooshing sound above him. He looked up with a start, sweeping his hair out of his eyes with one hand. Floating above him was Myrtle.

"Get out of here!" Malfoy growled angrily. Myrtle watched him reproachfully.

"I wouldn't have had to come here if you would just have kept your promise." Myrtle mumbled tearfully. He sighed exasperatedly.

"It's only been four days! Just leave me alone Myrtle!" He snarled. She sighed and floated closer.

"I thought you felt the same. I thought you were different." She sniffed. Malfoy shook his head disbelievingly. He swept his hair back again, ruffling it up in the back.

"Just-wait in your bathroom. I'll be there in a minute. I just have to drop off my stuff." He mumbled. Myrtle smiled broadly and brushed away the tears in her eyes.

"I knew I could count on you Draco!" She beamed. He smiled at her uneasily and hurried inside the common room. When the door closed behind him, he slumped up against the wall and sighed heavily.

The day just couldn't get any worse. As hard as he tried, Malfoy just couldn't get it right. Flitwick, Potty, Myrtle...how could it get any worse? And how could he reminisce about wanting to be Potter's friend? He was a gigantic arse! Everyone loved Potty...with his scar and his sad back story, but the truth was that he was just as judgmental and unforgiving as everyone else.

He wasn't used to having a pitiful day such as this, where all he could do is remember all of the terrible things. Normally he just skulked around terrorizing first years and insulting every person he laid his eyes on, but now...all the fire had left him. There was no desire to swagger around with Pansy hanging off his elbow, no desperate wish that Weasley would give him a good reason to send a well aimed full body bind curse at him. He just...didn't care.

He sat down on the couch and closed his eyes.

He was such a git. What would everybody think of him now if they could see his thoughts at this very moment? It was bad enough that they had heard about him crying, but this was the icing on the cake. What had happened to him? He was losing his grip! Confiding in Myrtle, arguing about his feelings with Granger, remembering the days that he wanted nothing more than to have Potter like him. He was mortifying himself with these thoughts.

"If they knew..." He whispered to himself. A slight hope had risen inside him, the kind of hope that had lived in him in his first years at Hogwarts. The hope that maybe one day they'd all see that he wasn't all bad. "Nothing would change. And besides, even if it did, I can't change course now." He replied to himself. He was going crazy, talking to himself like this. "They'll never want you. Just like your father never wanted you. You are unlovable. You are unworthy of their attention. You know that." He sighed for the third time since leaving Charms class.

"Grow up. Mudbloods and giant prats like Potter are undeserving of your attention anyways. You don't need them. You don't need anyone. You're Draco Malfoy. You were born to be alone."


End file.
